Page 50

DAMON

T he blood of those slain remained in the air, the scent faint but still pricked my nose.

Sasha dropped into a crouch on the trail we stood on, her nose wrinkled as she sniffed. Her eyes darted up to the hillside.

“The killer must’ve hid behind those trees over there,” Sasha said.

“They’re the only group of trees that would provide concealment to lie in wait.

” She pointed at the other trees to my left.

“Notice how those are sparse and far apart? The werebear must’ve hid over here and waited till the humans were right at this bend in the trail. Then he struck.”

I took in the surrounding landscape. The trail wound through a clearing, the bend nearby a cluster of pines packed together. As I stepped over to the group of trees, I kneeled and sifted the dirt at my feet. Someone had disturbed the soil. I raised my fingers to my nose and inhaled.

Werebear.

My inner bear rumbled in dark satisfaction.

The female was right. They had laid in wait in that exact spot.

Sasha walked up behind me, lips thinned, eyes hollow.

Her sadness burned my nostrils, hitting the back of my throat.

I whirled and glanced up at her. She fixed her focus on the path further ahead, where crime tape still sectioned off the area.

With my mouth open, I dragged in the odors. Sunshine and nutmeg wafted my way, along with the underlying scent of a werewolf. The grounds looked familiar. I could’ve sworn I’d seen this place before, but knew I never stepped foot there.

One look at Sasha told me all I needed to know.

Her eyes were wet with tears, and she blinked, trying to keep them at bay.

Shit... someone murdered her pack mate here..

It all clicked together. The news segment I’d seen on TV about the discovery of the body of a little girl mauled by a bear.

She belonged to Sasha’s pack. I clenched my teeth.

The essence of her tears had my stomach twisting.

My inner bear groaned, clawing at my mind.

He pushed against my skin, wanting to comfort our mate.

I pushed to my feet and approached her, keeping my movements slow.

Sasha wasn’t aware of my actions, as her gaze lingered on the crime scene ahead.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her against my chest, burying my nose into her hair.

This was about comfort. Werekind thrived in touch, and hugs could give one strength to endure.

Though, fuck me, if she didn’t smell like peaches and cream.

Delectable. Soft enough to nibble on or lap the hollow of her throat.

Easy, I cautioned my bear.

She placed her hands on my chest and shoved, scrambling out of my embrace. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I dropped my arm to my side. “You know what touch can do for our kind… ground our emotions and bring them to stable measures.”

She laughed, the sound bitter in my ears. “So, now I’m unstable?” A deep growl sounded from within her. “You know nothing about me. Keep your pretentious thoughts to yourself.” Her eyes fell to my hands. “And your grabby hands.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied her. Her anger and grief were a potent mix, thickening the space between us. She glanced away from me. Her hands trembled. Hell, her whole body shook. She bit her lower lip hard, and the sharp tang of blood hit me.

She’s unraveling.

I heaved a sigh.

“Wow,” I ventured, shaking my head.

Sasha slid me a cool look, but remained silent.

“I knew you wolves were uptight as fuck, but never thought you’d turn down comfort.” I grimaced, giving her an imperious stare. “What? Too intimate for the weres? No wonder you’re a virgin.” A wild guess, her virginity. But by the way her face reddened, I’d guessed correctly.

Sasha stiffened. The sharp look she’d sent my way turned icy. “You pompous ass!” She whirled, baring her fangs, and took a threatening step toward me. “First off, how the hell do you figure I’m a virgin?”

“You’re as uptight as one. Prickly with touch.”

She threw her head back and scoffed. “Yeah! Touch from a bear! No one wants your meaty paws on them. I sure as fuck don’t!” She made a show of shuddering.

The way the fire flashed in her eyes, I knew I’d stoked her fury—and it was near boiling.

My inner bear gave a smug grin and a flash of fangs.

The female would stop grieving now that she had a target to focus on…

me. Though, I might have only delayed the investigation.

The little wolf was as stubborn as sin when she was angry. She may turn down working with me.

God dammit…

Sasha skipped past me, her shoulder ramming into my side. “Get the hell out of my way.”

I backed a step or two, allowing her space as she inhaled, peering at the trees, studying the soil I’d sifted through. She dropped to her hands and knees and sniffed the soil disturbed by a werebear.

“I don’t recognize the scent. Perhaps a bear from another clan, so we’ve no leads that?—”

“Shh!” she hissed, throwing up a hand.

With a hardened brow, I closed my mouth.

After a few seconds, she reared back onto her knees. She fastened chocolate eyes on me. I fought not to swallow. Those eyes drew me in, made me want things I couldn’t have.

“Dark Fae were here before.”

I blinked. “What?”

She rose to her feet and pointed at the crime scene down below, where they found the little girl.

“Chelsea’s killer is Dark Fae. I could smell his scent the night I discovered her body.

” She gestured toward the disturbed soil by the tree.

“This odor is older by two weeks, but carries the same traces as the former scent. The killer here was Dark Fae.”

I shook my head. “Werebears were responsible. You saw the police files, the autopsy reports, they ripped their throats out and bodies gouged by claw marks.” A muscle popped in my jaw. “Bear claw marks.”

“But you came into my territory and told me that the bears were being manipulated,” Sasha said. “The Dark Fae are manipulating the bears.”

I raised my brows.

“Why are you eyeing me like I’m one step away from the looney farm?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “Because I’m wondering if that’s our next stop.”

Her eyes bled amber, glowing like twin gold nuggets. “Damn you…I can scent the Dark Fae! Why don’t you try using your nose?”

After a growl, I tilted my head back and inhaled. The usual smells of pine and oak, fresh grass, prey, wind, and sky wafted into my nostrils. I raised my arms and let them fall to my side. “There’s no foreign scent here.”

Sasha’s eyes rounded in disbelief. “Y-You… you can’t smell it?”

I shook my head.

Sasha groaned in frustration and, reaching down, she scooped up the dirt and shoved her palm beneath my nose. “Really inhale.”

Narrowing an eye at her, I sniffed the dirt.

“Nothing there, darling.”

She sighed, letting the dirt sift through her fingers. “How can you not smell that? It burns the back of my throat, for God’s sake!”

I bit the inside of my cheek, debating if I should say what was on the tip of my tongue.

To hell with it.

“Don’t you think you might be reaching?”

“Reaching?”

I hooked my thumbs into the loops of my jeans and took a relaxed stance. Maybe that would simmer down the storm crossing over her face.

“Yeah… trying to find a killer where there isn’t one. I know you need closure to?—”

“Fuck me, man!” Sasha shook her head, appearing dismayed.

My fangs poked out. “Think about it, Sasha! We have not sighted the Dark Fae since they handed their asses to them during the Great War. Humans no longer remember Werekind nor the Dark Fae. The Fae are not being worshiped and believed to be gods, by the humans, as was tradition eons ago.” I raked my fingers through my hair.

“Why would they come back to the human realm and risk the Werekind’s wrath again?

Aside from that, how could they possibly manipulate werebears? ”

“I don’t know how,” Sasha murmured. Her hands clenched into fists at her side. “But I know they’re manipulating the werebears somehow. Maybe the reason they’re forgotten by the humans is why they’re causing the bears to kill them. They’re retaliating.”

“There is no manipulation, Sasha.” I slapped the side of my head for emphasis. “Our minds are fucking impenetrable. We aren’t victims of the Fae’s persuasion, unlike the other weres—wolves, for example.”

Sasha shot me a dark and angry frown.

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and tore at the garment, ripping a piece of the black fabric.

I clamped a hand on her wrist. “What the hell are you doing?”

She shook me off. “Getting proof.” Sasha stooped and swiped at the soil with her garment. She folded the fabric into a neat square and tucked it in her back pocket before stalking toward the Jeep parked at the bottom of the slope.

“Where are you going?”

“ We are going for a drive,” Sasha called over her shoulder. She reached the driver’s door. “Stop gawking and get in the damn car.”

A snarl tore from my chest. After raking a hand through my hair, I hurried after her.

The little minx just might peel off and leave me here.

I slipped into my seat. Sasha waited long enough for me to click my seatbelt on, and then we were off.

She had me holding onto the ‘Oh-shit handle’ as she raced her way into town.

We sped past various stores and the downtown district before she drove into the backside of town.

The sun had long ago dipped behind the horizon, leaving shadows to play over the roads.

My hair stiffened, warnings firing off inside my gut.

We were in the Werekind district. The humans thought it was the less desirable part of town, but it served as an open camouflage for us.

Turning in my seat to look at Sasha, I asked, “Where the hell are we going?” The determined look on her face made my stomach knot.

Sasha didn’t answer. She jerked the Jeep into a hard right, and we swung into a parking lot filled with vehicles.

I glanced around. My gaze snagged on the black rectangular building up ahead that blended with the backdrop of the obsidian sky.

No moon hung in the heavens, only stars glittering like diamond dust.

Oh, hell no…

I whirled on Sasha. “Why are we at a were-bar?”

She stepped out of the car and smirked at me. “Because we’re going to see a witch.”